Cryptic receptors for chemotactic peptides in rabbit neutrophils

Specific binding of chemotactic peptides to receptors in rabbit neutrophils was enhanced in the presence of aliphatic alcohols — especially n-propanol and n-butanol. The effect was concentration dependent with maximum increases in specific binding of 2.6 and 3.0 fold in the presence of 2.5% n-propanol and n-butanol respectively. The results indicate that up to 65% of the receptors are cryptic and unavailable for ligand interactions. It is suggested that minute to minute modulation of chemotactic responsiveness could occur by controlling at the membrane level the number of receptors exposed to chemotactic stimuli.